Transnistrian presidential election, 1996

Presidential elections were held in the breakaway republic of Transnistria on 22 December, 1996. They were won by the incumbent Igor Smirnov, who has ruled Transnistria since 1991. Smirnov's only opponent was Vladimir Malakhov, who was beaten by Smirnov, 72% to 20%.^[1][2]

On 2 November, it was reported that Transnistria's central electoral commission had registered only two candidates for the election. Six others, including head of the Tiraspol city council Vitalii Glebov, were unable to collect the necessary 10,000 signatures.^[3]

Before the election, Malakhov claimed that his campaign was receiving "unequal treatment" from the media. He was considering withdrawing from the race, which would invalidate the election, the constitution requiring at least 2 candidates for the election to be able to occur. However, the Parliament of Transnistria amended the constitution, so that Smirnov could get elected unopposed. Malakhov then decided to continue his campaign.^[4]

Results

 Summary of the 22 December 1996 Transnistrian presidential election results

Candidate	Vice-pres. candidate	Votes	%
Igor Smirnov	Alexandru Caraman		71.94
Vladimir Malakhov	Vasily Protsenko		19.84
None of the above, blank or invalid			8.22
Total (turnout 57.1%)			100.0%
Sources: Olvia Press - Transnistrian press agency Open Media Research Institute

References

1. (Russian) Olvia Press: Presidential elections in Transnistria
2. Open Media Research Institute: Daily Digest, No. 246, 30 December 1996
3. Open Media Research Institute: Daily Digest, No. 213, Part II, 4 November 1996
4. Open Media Research Institute: Daily Digest, No. 245, 19 Dec 96